I own nothing. This is my disclaimer. Just to let you know, the plot isn't
original and the characters belong to Mrs. Rowling.
Ch. 19 Challenges and Changes
As February rolled along, the teachers at Hogwarts began reviewing the past 7 years of information they had studied. The N.E.W.T.s were a week after Easter Holidays, and then the 7th years had another month and a half to prepare for their Exit exams.
Hermione, already beginning to feel the beginnings of test anxiety, had much trouble keeping down her large meals during classes. She had to leave Transfiguration on numerous occasions, always claiming nerves or poor diet. Professor McGonagall was getting suspicious of Hermione's unusual behavior. After conferring with her other teachers, who all agreed that there was a problem, she confronted Madame Pomfrey.
"Madame Pomfrey, my student Hermione Granger has been suffering from some sort of illness these past few weeks. The teachers and I are very concerned that she is developing some sort of disease or falling into dangerous patterns. Has she come to you for anything?"
"I haven't seen Ms. Granger since her accident," the nurse quickly answered.
Professor McGonagall wasn't completely satisfied. "Is she having some sort of ill effects from the accident?"
"Nope, she left here with a clean bill of health. You know I wouldn't let a student leave with out being thoroughly checked out by me."
"Then why is she continually vomiting in her classes?"
"Nerves perhaps? The N.E.W.T.s are on their way, and you know how much a worry wart she is when it comes to her grades and achieving high marks."
"Madame Pomfrey.what is it that you aren't telling me? You know there's something bigger than just nerves."
"I'm pregnant, Professor McGonagall," Hermione stepped in. She had been listening behind the curtain to the two banter about her. She needed more prenatal vitamins and had walked in on them.
"Ms. Granger.?" Professor McGonagall replied in shock.
"Draco's the father, and we're going to raise the baby together. I've been having morning sickness and I can't predict when I'll throw up."
"Oh honey, you should have come to me earlier. I could have given you something to help ease the symptoms," interjected Madame Pomfrey. She bustled off to refill Hermione's vitamins as Professor McGonagall stared at Hermione.
"This is so very unexpected.especially from you."
"I know. But no one knows, not even my other teachers. I'm going to keep this a secret as long as I can."
The nurse returned with Hermione's pills and a bottle of anti morning sickness medication.
"Take on of these after you've eaten breakfast and it should ward off any problems until your second trimester."
"Thank you Madame Pomfrey," Hermione said as she left the room.
"Are you happy now Minerva?"
"I'm just in total shock. Our top student, I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams."
"I know, Professor. I know." * * * *
Hermione was at lunch, studying, when Draco came up to her with a tulip in his hand.
"For my lovely flower, a lovely flower," Draco chirped.
Hermione giggled. "Draco it's beautiful. You didn't have to do this!"
"I wanted to. You are just so wonderful that I wish I could gather all the flowers on the planet and give them to you. And even then they wouldn't be enough."
"Oh, Draco!" Hermione swooned as she leaned in and gave him a sweet, tender kiss. Then, from overhead a high pitched screech as the mail owls swooped in with their deliveries. Hermione received a letter from her parents (she hadn't told them of her pregnancy yet), a magazine, and a small package of ink wells.
Then, in front of Draco was another Howler, redder and bigger than the one Hermione had seen.
"Maybe you should open it, Draco," Hermione quipped. Gingerly, Draco began to unravel the letter, preparing himself for the worst of his father. "Does he know I'm pregnant Draco?"
"Not yet," Draco said nervously. Suddenly the Howler came to life and Lucius' booming voice echoed through the Great Hall.
DRACO MALFOY, YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY! NOT ONLY DO YOU IGNORE MY LAST THREE HOWLERS, NOW YOU GO AND GET TOGETHER WITH A MUDBLOOD! WE HAD SUCH HIGH HOPES FOR YOU, AND YOU HAVE FAILED US DISGRACED THE MALFOY NAME! I SUGGEST YOU MAKE YOUR NEXT DECISIONS CAREFULLY IF YOU WANT TO AVOID ANY HORRIFIC CONSEQUENCES
The Howler evaporated into ashes and people in the Great Hall turned and stared. Hermione bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at Draco, fury burning in his eyes.
"What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Nothing." He grabbed a piece of parchment and replied to his father.
I am staying with Hermione. I don't care if I shame the family name; I am in love with a wonderful woman. Hermione and I are having a child together. I am going to take care of her and love her as much as any man can.
"I think it's time we told your parents." Hermione nodded, and began scribbling on a piece of parchment and informing them of the recent news. Hermione gulped as she placed the envelope in a school owl's pouch and sent him off.
"Well, they'll find out soon enough," Hermione muttered quietly. "I need to go, I've got Arithmancy in a few minutes." She gave Draco a kiss and quickly hurried off to her class.
Draco was raging mad. How dare his father dictate how he lived? Yes, he had fallen under his control for a short time, but then he fell in love. And now he's impregnated Hermione, and he has to take responsibility for their actions. He loved Hermione, and he would love her no matter what. His heart squeezed a little, for Draco knew how his father would react, and he new that no matter what, this would be a lose lose situation for him. He gathered his belongings and headed towards Divination.
On the way to his class, Draco ran into Harry.
"I heard you got a Howler from your dad," Harry said sympathetically.
"It doesn't matter now. I make my own decisions, I'm 17 years old and I'll deal with whatever he throws my way."
"How did Hermione take it?"
"She's worried. The last thing she needs is stress. I can handle my father; I'm not afraid of him. He may be powerful, but he's getting old. I'll admit, I wish I had more of his support, but I knew how he felt about me dating anyone outside of his jurisdiction, and I don't regret being with Hermione."
"Have you thought about what's going to happen when your father finds out about her being pregnant?"
"I don't want to." Draco and Harry walked to Divination together in silence.
After classes had finished for the day, Draco walked up to his dorm room, when he heard crying from Hermione's quarters. He walked in and found his girlfriend curled up on the floor.
"Hermione, what's wrong!?" he asked panicked.
"I don't know if I can have this baby! I'm only 17, I'm too young! I didn't even think about the financial burden this will put on me. No doubt my parents aren't going to be too supportive to know that their little girl is going to be a mommy. Oh and all of my hard work in school to get a good job, and now I can't even pursue that because I'll be too busy taking care of our baby. I'll be up at all hours of the day feeding her and changing her and bathing her and trying to sing her to sleep before she has to be fed again. Where are we going to live? How are we going to get the money to raise this child? We're too young Draco!" Hermione sobbed.
"What brought all of this on?" he murmured. He sat down next to her, rubbing her back.
"I've been feeling like this since we first found out! I was in too much shock to actually realize what was happening, and then finally it all just hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't want to upset you, and you were already concerned about me after my accident, but honey I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I'm ready to be a mom!"
Draco sat with her in silence. He too had been having some reservations about this. He knew his father was going to put up as much of a fight as he possibly could; there would be no financial support from his parents; they had no place to live. He took a deep breath closed his eyes. But he had no doubt in his mind about one thing- he loved Hermione.
"Hermione," Draco whispered, "I can't tell you how the future's going to turn out. I can't tell you that everything is going to be okay, that we'll have the money to raise the baby, or that we'll even have a house or an apartment, I can't tell you how our parents are going to react. I honestly don't know what will happen. But I want you to remember something. I want you to remember that I'm part of this equation. I'm going to be helping you raise this baby. When you're up at 3:30 AM feeding the baby, I'll be right next to you. And when you're changing diapers, I'll be next to you throwing them away. And when-" Draco looked down, and Hermione was asleep on the floor.
He picked Hermione up from the floor and carried her over to her bed. He tucked her in and kissed her cheek and turned off the lights. Before going into his room, he turned around and looked at her one more time.
"Everything's going to be fine. I'll take care of you."
* * * *
Hermione awoke to the sunshine spilling into her room. It was Saturday, finally. The week had been long, and although she had no more vomiting spells, she still had not heard from her parents, N.E.W.T.s were inching their way forwards, and her baby's future had no security.
She stretched under her covers, and reappeared to find Draco standing in the bathroom doorway. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of faded jeans. Damn he was sexy.
"Hey sweetie," she smiled.
"I'm taking you away today. Dress warmly."
Hermione was confused. "Where are we going?"
"You'll find out soon enough. First, we have breakfast." He walked back into his room and came with a silver tray. Blueberry muffins, Belgian waffles, a glass of orange juice and slices of mango decorated the top.
"You brought me breakfast in bed!" Hermione squealed.
"Today is your day. You've been under a lot of stress and I am going to take care of you," he said. He placed the tray Hermione's lap after she sat up against her pillows and sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her eat.
"Have you heard from your father yet?" Hermione questioned.
"Not yet. I'm guessing his heart stopped and they had to fly him into a muggle -hospital to revive him." There was a touch of sadness in Draco's voice, and she decided it was best to drop the subject.
"You know," she said with her mouth full, "these are the best damn blueberry muffins I've ever tasted."
"You like them? Good. I made them."
Hermione's eyes widened. "You made these?"
"Everything on the plate. What, just because I'm a Malfoy doesn't mean I don't know how to cook." He smiled at her and looked at her as she finished off her glass of orange juice.
"Well Draco this is just the best breakfast I've ever fucking tasted."
"Now Hermione, that's no way to talk around a child." Hermione smiled as she maternally placed her hand on her tummy. Hermione had a little bump growing, but luckily no one had noticed.
She placed her tray aside. "So, where are we going?"
"You'll just have to find out. Put on something warm, we're going to be outside. I'll let you get dressed." He got up and walked out of the room. Hermione sank into her covers and reluctantly rolled out of her bed. She opened her drawer and pulled out a white poplin shirt, a pair of low rider jeans, and black boots. She pulled her hair back, put on a pair of earrings and slipped on woolen mittens, a hat, and a scarf. She grabbed her black leather jacket (a late Christmas gift from her parents) and walked into Draco's room.
"You ready to go, Draco?"
"I'm ready." He pulled on a brown suede jacket and they walked hand and hand together as they left the castle grounds. He led to her Hogsmeade, where he gave her a train ticket which read "Carnival".
"You're taking me to a carnival?" Hermione jumped up and down.
"I am. It's in London for the week and I figured you and I could go and have some childish fun. Simple but meaningful."
"Draco you're wonderful!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him as the train pulled up to the station. They boarded the London Express and walked into a small but cozy compartment, which was set up with a table, big cushy seats and a meal for two.
"I called ahead and made some arrangements. I figured you'd be hungry right about now anyways." Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes as she looked down at the food. Warm biscuits, fruit, hot cider and chocolate truffles.
"Draco this is too much."
"It's not enough, not for you." They sat together and feasted on the delicious food as the train rolled down the meadows. The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight and the sun was shining bright. There wasn't any wind, but the air was still a bit chilly. The ride only took about 45 minutes before they arrived at the carnival.
"What would you like to do first?" Draco asked.
"Can we go on the Ferris wheel?" Hermione begged. Although he wasn't too keen on heights, he complied.
They day was spent with popcorn, cotton candy, a merry go round, a camel ride, slides, more food and even a trapeze act. Hermione had never spent a more perfect day. She loved every minute of the carnival, and was sad when Draco told them it was time to leave. They boarded the train again, but this time they were led to two different compartments.
"Draco, what's going on?"
"Just trust me Hermione. I will meet you outside the train when it stops." Hermione walked into a compartment which was a fair bit larger than the last. There was another table, but instead of food there were red roses and magnificent lilies waiting for her. Next to the flowers was a dress. It was dark blue with a lower cut back and glitter glued on in a delicate design. A note was lying on the flowers.
Tonight is your night. Put the dress on and wait for the train to stop. You will want to wear your jacket, but only for a short time. I love you, Hermione.
Hermione, although still confused, was very touched by this gesture. She changed out of her clothes and slipped on the dress, her size exactly despite her growing belly. She put her hair in a French twist, but kept the earrings on. The dress was form fitting and not puffy, which was her preference. Her window showed the night sky as the train pulled up to what looked to be a fancy building.
She slipped her jacket back on and was led by a coachman to the door, where Draco was waiting in a tuxedo. He held out his arm for her to take as she stepped off the train.
"Draco, this is all so wonderful."
"This is only the beginning." She smiled at him as he led her down the walk way until they entered a beautifully decorated entrance way. A bellman was waiting for them at the door.
"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, let me take your jackets. Mr. Malfoy, the preparations are ready."
"Preparations..?" Hermione asked.
"Just trust me." He held out his hand and they walked together down a corridor.
"Close your eyes," Draco whispered. Hermione did as he had asked, and felt him lead her into a warm room that smelled of vanilla and roses. A piano in the background was playing a series of love songs. "You can open your eyes now." Hermione immediately allowed her eyelids to fly open and the sight upon her was breathtaking. Bouquets of roses sat everywhere and candles floated across the room. In the middle of the room was a dance floor.
"Hermione Granger, may I have this dance?" Draco asked properly.
"Yes you may, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione played. He led her to the center of the rose petal covered dance floor. The ceiling had been enchanted to imitate the nighttime sky. He held her close as the piano man began playing "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion. They swayed together quietly as they listened to the man play. In her mind Hermione could hear Celine's lyrics:
You were my strength when I was weak, You were my voice when I couldn't speak, You were my eyes when I couldn't see, You saw the best there was in me, You lifted me up when I couldn't reach, You gave me faith because you believed, I'm everything I am because you loved me.
Suddenly Draco stopped dancing.
"Draco?"
"Hermione, you have made me so happy these past few months. You're my best friend, and you love me for me. You trust me, you listen to me, and you take care of me. I made myself a promise that I would always take care of you, and I'm going to follow through on that. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, holding you, and taking care of you." He got down on one knee, and from his pocket he pulled out a little black box. "My mother gave this to me a long time ago and told me to give it to the right girl when I knew it was time." He opened the box and inside was a delicate diamond set in between two smaller stones, all set on a white gold band. "This belonged to my grandmother; it was her engagement ring. Would you do me the honor, Hermione Granger, of wearing this ring and being my wife?"
Hermione's tears spilled over. "Oh, god Draco yes!" She sniffled. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Of course I'll marry you!" He smiled and let tears flow from his eyes as he slipped on the ring on her left ring finger. It had fit perfectly.
Ch. 19 Challenges and Changes
As February rolled along, the teachers at Hogwarts began reviewing the past 7 years of information they had studied. The N.E.W.T.s were a week after Easter Holidays, and then the 7th years had another month and a half to prepare for their Exit exams.
Hermione, already beginning to feel the beginnings of test anxiety, had much trouble keeping down her large meals during classes. She had to leave Transfiguration on numerous occasions, always claiming nerves or poor diet. Professor McGonagall was getting suspicious of Hermione's unusual behavior. After conferring with her other teachers, who all agreed that there was a problem, she confronted Madame Pomfrey.
"Madame Pomfrey, my student Hermione Granger has been suffering from some sort of illness these past few weeks. The teachers and I are very concerned that she is developing some sort of disease or falling into dangerous patterns. Has she come to you for anything?"
"I haven't seen Ms. Granger since her accident," the nurse quickly answered.
Professor McGonagall wasn't completely satisfied. "Is she having some sort of ill effects from the accident?"
"Nope, she left here with a clean bill of health. You know I wouldn't let a student leave with out being thoroughly checked out by me."
"Then why is she continually vomiting in her classes?"
"Nerves perhaps? The N.E.W.T.s are on their way, and you know how much a worry wart she is when it comes to her grades and achieving high marks."
"Madame Pomfrey.what is it that you aren't telling me? You know there's something bigger than just nerves."
"I'm pregnant, Professor McGonagall," Hermione stepped in. She had been listening behind the curtain to the two banter about her. She needed more prenatal vitamins and had walked in on them.
"Ms. Granger.?" Professor McGonagall replied in shock.
"Draco's the father, and we're going to raise the baby together. I've been having morning sickness and I can't predict when I'll throw up."
"Oh honey, you should have come to me earlier. I could have given you something to help ease the symptoms," interjected Madame Pomfrey. She bustled off to refill Hermione's vitamins as Professor McGonagall stared at Hermione.
"This is so very unexpected.especially from you."
"I know. But no one knows, not even my other teachers. I'm going to keep this a secret as long as I can."
The nurse returned with Hermione's pills and a bottle of anti morning sickness medication.
"Take on of these after you've eaten breakfast and it should ward off any problems until your second trimester."
"Thank you Madame Pomfrey," Hermione said as she left the room.
"Are you happy now Minerva?"
"I'm just in total shock. Our top student, I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams."
"I know, Professor. I know." * * * *
Hermione was at lunch, studying, when Draco came up to her with a tulip in his hand.
"For my lovely flower, a lovely flower," Draco chirped.
Hermione giggled. "Draco it's beautiful. You didn't have to do this!"
"I wanted to. You are just so wonderful that I wish I could gather all the flowers on the planet and give them to you. And even then they wouldn't be enough."
"Oh, Draco!" Hermione swooned as she leaned in and gave him a sweet, tender kiss. Then, from overhead a high pitched screech as the mail owls swooped in with their deliveries. Hermione received a letter from her parents (she hadn't told them of her pregnancy yet), a magazine, and a small package of ink wells.
Then, in front of Draco was another Howler, redder and bigger than the one Hermione had seen.
"Maybe you should open it, Draco," Hermione quipped. Gingerly, Draco began to unravel the letter, preparing himself for the worst of his father. "Does he know I'm pregnant Draco?"
"Not yet," Draco said nervously. Suddenly the Howler came to life and Lucius' booming voice echoed through the Great Hall.
DRACO MALFOY, YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY! NOT ONLY DO YOU IGNORE MY LAST THREE HOWLERS, NOW YOU GO AND GET TOGETHER WITH A MUDBLOOD! WE HAD SUCH HIGH HOPES FOR YOU, AND YOU HAVE FAILED US DISGRACED THE MALFOY NAME! I SUGGEST YOU MAKE YOUR NEXT DECISIONS CAREFULLY IF YOU WANT TO AVOID ANY HORRIFIC CONSEQUENCES
The Howler evaporated into ashes and people in the Great Hall turned and stared. Hermione bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at Draco, fury burning in his eyes.
"What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Nothing." He grabbed a piece of parchment and replied to his father.
I am staying with Hermione. I don't care if I shame the family name; I am in love with a wonderful woman. Hermione and I are having a child together. I am going to take care of her and love her as much as any man can.
"I think it's time we told your parents." Hermione nodded, and began scribbling on a piece of parchment and informing them of the recent news. Hermione gulped as she placed the envelope in a school owl's pouch and sent him off.
"Well, they'll find out soon enough," Hermione muttered quietly. "I need to go, I've got Arithmancy in a few minutes." She gave Draco a kiss and quickly hurried off to her class.
Draco was raging mad. How dare his father dictate how he lived? Yes, he had fallen under his control for a short time, but then he fell in love. And now he's impregnated Hermione, and he has to take responsibility for their actions. He loved Hermione, and he would love her no matter what. His heart squeezed a little, for Draco knew how his father would react, and he new that no matter what, this would be a lose lose situation for him. He gathered his belongings and headed towards Divination.
On the way to his class, Draco ran into Harry.
"I heard you got a Howler from your dad," Harry said sympathetically.
"It doesn't matter now. I make my own decisions, I'm 17 years old and I'll deal with whatever he throws my way."
"How did Hermione take it?"
"She's worried. The last thing she needs is stress. I can handle my father; I'm not afraid of him. He may be powerful, but he's getting old. I'll admit, I wish I had more of his support, but I knew how he felt about me dating anyone outside of his jurisdiction, and I don't regret being with Hermione."
"Have you thought about what's going to happen when your father finds out about her being pregnant?"
"I don't want to." Draco and Harry walked to Divination together in silence.
After classes had finished for the day, Draco walked up to his dorm room, when he heard crying from Hermione's quarters. He walked in and found his girlfriend curled up on the floor.
"Hermione, what's wrong!?" he asked panicked.
"I don't know if I can have this baby! I'm only 17, I'm too young! I didn't even think about the financial burden this will put on me. No doubt my parents aren't going to be too supportive to know that their little girl is going to be a mommy. Oh and all of my hard work in school to get a good job, and now I can't even pursue that because I'll be too busy taking care of our baby. I'll be up at all hours of the day feeding her and changing her and bathing her and trying to sing her to sleep before she has to be fed again. Where are we going to live? How are we going to get the money to raise this child? We're too young Draco!" Hermione sobbed.
"What brought all of this on?" he murmured. He sat down next to her, rubbing her back.
"I've been feeling like this since we first found out! I was in too much shock to actually realize what was happening, and then finally it all just hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't want to upset you, and you were already concerned about me after my accident, but honey I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I'm ready to be a mom!"
Draco sat with her in silence. He too had been having some reservations about this. He knew his father was going to put up as much of a fight as he possibly could; there would be no financial support from his parents; they had no place to live. He took a deep breath closed his eyes. But he had no doubt in his mind about one thing- he loved Hermione.
"Hermione," Draco whispered, "I can't tell you how the future's going to turn out. I can't tell you that everything is going to be okay, that we'll have the money to raise the baby, or that we'll even have a house or an apartment, I can't tell you how our parents are going to react. I honestly don't know what will happen. But I want you to remember something. I want you to remember that I'm part of this equation. I'm going to be helping you raise this baby. When you're up at 3:30 AM feeding the baby, I'll be right next to you. And when you're changing diapers, I'll be next to you throwing them away. And when-" Draco looked down, and Hermione was asleep on the floor.
He picked Hermione up from the floor and carried her over to her bed. He tucked her in and kissed her cheek and turned off the lights. Before going into his room, he turned around and looked at her one more time.
"Everything's going to be fine. I'll take care of you."
* * * *
Hermione awoke to the sunshine spilling into her room. It was Saturday, finally. The week had been long, and although she had no more vomiting spells, she still had not heard from her parents, N.E.W.T.s were inching their way forwards, and her baby's future had no security.
She stretched under her covers, and reappeared to find Draco standing in the bathroom doorway. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of faded jeans. Damn he was sexy.
"Hey sweetie," she smiled.
"I'm taking you away today. Dress warmly."
Hermione was confused. "Where are we going?"
"You'll find out soon enough. First, we have breakfast." He walked back into his room and came with a silver tray. Blueberry muffins, Belgian waffles, a glass of orange juice and slices of mango decorated the top.
"You brought me breakfast in bed!" Hermione squealed.
"Today is your day. You've been under a lot of stress and I am going to take care of you," he said. He placed the tray Hermione's lap after she sat up against her pillows and sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her eat.
"Have you heard from your father yet?" Hermione questioned.
"Not yet. I'm guessing his heart stopped and they had to fly him into a muggle -hospital to revive him." There was a touch of sadness in Draco's voice, and she decided it was best to drop the subject.
"You know," she said with her mouth full, "these are the best damn blueberry muffins I've ever tasted."
"You like them? Good. I made them."
Hermione's eyes widened. "You made these?"
"Everything on the plate. What, just because I'm a Malfoy doesn't mean I don't know how to cook." He smiled at her and looked at her as she finished off her glass of orange juice.
"Well Draco this is just the best breakfast I've ever fucking tasted."
"Now Hermione, that's no way to talk around a child." Hermione smiled as she maternally placed her hand on her tummy. Hermione had a little bump growing, but luckily no one had noticed.
She placed her tray aside. "So, where are we going?"
"You'll just have to find out. Put on something warm, we're going to be outside. I'll let you get dressed." He got up and walked out of the room. Hermione sank into her covers and reluctantly rolled out of her bed. She opened her drawer and pulled out a white poplin shirt, a pair of low rider jeans, and black boots. She pulled her hair back, put on a pair of earrings and slipped on woolen mittens, a hat, and a scarf. She grabbed her black leather jacket (a late Christmas gift from her parents) and walked into Draco's room.
"You ready to go, Draco?"
"I'm ready." He pulled on a brown suede jacket and they walked hand and hand together as they left the castle grounds. He led to her Hogsmeade, where he gave her a train ticket which read "Carnival".
"You're taking me to a carnival?" Hermione jumped up and down.
"I am. It's in London for the week and I figured you and I could go and have some childish fun. Simple but meaningful."
"Draco you're wonderful!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him as the train pulled up to the station. They boarded the London Express and walked into a small but cozy compartment, which was set up with a table, big cushy seats and a meal for two.
"I called ahead and made some arrangements. I figured you'd be hungry right about now anyways." Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes as she looked down at the food. Warm biscuits, fruit, hot cider and chocolate truffles.
"Draco this is too much."
"It's not enough, not for you." They sat together and feasted on the delicious food as the train rolled down the meadows. The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight and the sun was shining bright. There wasn't any wind, but the air was still a bit chilly. The ride only took about 45 minutes before they arrived at the carnival.
"What would you like to do first?" Draco asked.
"Can we go on the Ferris wheel?" Hermione begged. Although he wasn't too keen on heights, he complied.
They day was spent with popcorn, cotton candy, a merry go round, a camel ride, slides, more food and even a trapeze act. Hermione had never spent a more perfect day. She loved every minute of the carnival, and was sad when Draco told them it was time to leave. They boarded the train again, but this time they were led to two different compartments.
"Draco, what's going on?"
"Just trust me Hermione. I will meet you outside the train when it stops." Hermione walked into a compartment which was a fair bit larger than the last. There was another table, but instead of food there were red roses and magnificent lilies waiting for her. Next to the flowers was a dress. It was dark blue with a lower cut back and glitter glued on in a delicate design. A note was lying on the flowers.
Tonight is your night. Put the dress on and wait for the train to stop. You will want to wear your jacket, but only for a short time. I love you, Hermione.
Hermione, although still confused, was very touched by this gesture. She changed out of her clothes and slipped on the dress, her size exactly despite her growing belly. She put her hair in a French twist, but kept the earrings on. The dress was form fitting and not puffy, which was her preference. Her window showed the night sky as the train pulled up to what looked to be a fancy building.
She slipped her jacket back on and was led by a coachman to the door, where Draco was waiting in a tuxedo. He held out his arm for her to take as she stepped off the train.
"Draco, this is all so wonderful."
"This is only the beginning." She smiled at him as he led her down the walk way until they entered a beautifully decorated entrance way. A bellman was waiting for them at the door.
"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, let me take your jackets. Mr. Malfoy, the preparations are ready."
"Preparations..?" Hermione asked.
"Just trust me." He held out his hand and they walked together down a corridor.
"Close your eyes," Draco whispered. Hermione did as he had asked, and felt him lead her into a warm room that smelled of vanilla and roses. A piano in the background was playing a series of love songs. "You can open your eyes now." Hermione immediately allowed her eyelids to fly open and the sight upon her was breathtaking. Bouquets of roses sat everywhere and candles floated across the room. In the middle of the room was a dance floor.
"Hermione Granger, may I have this dance?" Draco asked properly.
"Yes you may, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione played. He led her to the center of the rose petal covered dance floor. The ceiling had been enchanted to imitate the nighttime sky. He held her close as the piano man began playing "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion. They swayed together quietly as they listened to the man play. In her mind Hermione could hear Celine's lyrics:
You were my strength when I was weak, You were my voice when I couldn't speak, You were my eyes when I couldn't see, You saw the best there was in me, You lifted me up when I couldn't reach, You gave me faith because you believed, I'm everything I am because you loved me.
Suddenly Draco stopped dancing.
"Draco?"
"Hermione, you have made me so happy these past few months. You're my best friend, and you love me for me. You trust me, you listen to me, and you take care of me. I made myself a promise that I would always take care of you, and I'm going to follow through on that. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, holding you, and taking care of you." He got down on one knee, and from his pocket he pulled out a little black box. "My mother gave this to me a long time ago and told me to give it to the right girl when I knew it was time." He opened the box and inside was a delicate diamond set in between two smaller stones, all set on a white gold band. "This belonged to my grandmother; it was her engagement ring. Would you do me the honor, Hermione Granger, of wearing this ring and being my wife?"
Hermione's tears spilled over. "Oh, god Draco yes!" She sniffled. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Of course I'll marry you!" He smiled and let tears flow from his eyes as he slipped on the ring on her left ring finger. It had fit perfectly.